Aura's House May 2007 Newsletter

Dear Aura’s House friends and supporters:

We hope that the April showers (blizzards for some of you!) bring May flowers. There is certainly a lot going on here at Aura’s House this month so let’s get right to it:

Ghana Project Report
Fundraising is nearly finished already thanks to our donors as well as the fabulous students of Prof. Signorini’s Non-Profit Marketing Class at the American University of Rome. They have held a total of 3 fundraisers so far which have raised a whopping $2,366 for the children at the Cape Coast School for the Deaf in Ghana. The funds raised will purchase supplies for a chicken farm, a pig farm, and a vegetable garden that will help feed the students as well as teach them agricultural skills as well as self-sufficiency. Only $139 left to raise as of May 5, 2007!

Small Project 13
Early last month we finished fundraising for 4-year-old Lilian of Guatemala. Click here to read about the much-needed items your donations will purchase for her. As always, as soon as Children International sends us pictures, we will post them on the site. We are almost done raising funds for Christian of the Philippines, too! Soon Christian and his family will have beds, bedding, a fan, stove, food items, and a second-hand sewing machine to help them suppliment their income with their small business. Only $134 left to raise as of May 5, 2007!

New Main Project
Since we anticipate finishing up the Ghana Project in a very short time, we are brainstorming about a new Main Project. Possibilities include purchasing supplies for a kindergarten in Mexico, building a home for a boy named Bacilio and his family in Honduras, and working with a new organization called Harmony in India to help pay for disabled children's school fees. Actually, we will probably get around to doing all 3 of these projects, we’re just working out the logistics of which one to start next. Voice your opinion in our forums if you have fundraising ideas – we’d love to hear from you!

Have a great month everyone,
Kristen, Anastasia, Mike & Christina

Ghana Project Progress!

Visit this project.

Almost Done! .

Our goal is to raise $3000 to help the children at the Cape Coast School for the Deaf in Ghana. The funds raised will purchase a chicken farm, a pig farm, and a vegetable garden that will help feed the students as well as teach them agricultural skills that will help them become self-sufficient.

Please consider giving the gift of:
plant seeds -$10 a box
a chicken -$20 each
a pig -$30 each

See photos and video from the school.

Small Project #14 Launches

In less than a month, Aura's House has raised $666 for Christian Capin as of May 5, 2007.

Our goal is to give Christian Capin (8), and his famiy of the Philippines the following gifts: a bunk bed, bedding, cabinet, fan, kitchenware, textiles and a sewing machine for an income generating project.

Our goal is $800 -- and the breakdown for each item is:

Bunkbed $125

Bedding $50

Gas stove $24

Cabinet $116

Fan $12

Kitchenware $23

Textiles $150

Second-hand Sewing Machine $300 (-a new one would be $550, so if we go over our goal by $250, we can aim for a new one.)

Visit Small Project #14

Christian Capin (8)

Featured Donor: Tiffany Sandoval of San Diego, CA.

Tiffany writes :

"I have been involved with Aura’s house since 2004 when I first visited the website. I sponsor three children through Children International (also since 2004). Being involved with charity work has been important to me for a long time, and I’m always happy to check in with the projects going on at Aura’s house and watch the progress.

It’s so good to know that we are making a huge difference in the lives of the people Aura’s house helps. I especially love the fundraisers that help children achieve better education, such as the Kenya Classroom Project and especially the current project which will help a school for the deaf in Ghana.

I am currently a graduate student and I know how difficult school can be, without having to worry about some of the problems other students have to face, such as inadequate classrooms and the lack of school supplies. I love every time we complete a project and I hope that Aura’s house continues to operate for many years to come."

Tiffany Sandoval, San Diego CA

Kristen Going To Liberia for the United Nations

Kristen Palana, the founder of Aura's House is going on behalf of the UN's World Food Programme to shoot video in Liberia from May 9-13, 2007.

Kristen writes:

"Hello. I'm running around trying to get everything ready for this trip. The WFP would like me to make a documentary/video journal style video of some of their rural Feeding Centers in Liberia as well as the International Walk Against Hunger taking place on May 13, 2007. The Liberian walk is one of their biggest events, and last year it was led by their President, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.

Once I have my final footage, I'll be editing everything together over the summer. The final products will be seen online and on TV. I'll give you more information as I get it.

I'm looking forward to visiting this troubled nation that is making some of the best recent progress in Africa to tackle the problems of ending poverty and child hunger."

For more information on how you can help end child hunger, visit: www.fighthunger.org

What's Next :
We will continue fundraising for our new Ghana Project and our Small Projects.

You can also discuss voice your opinions and discuss our projects in our Community Forums.

We're also always looking for people to help out with fundraising, design, graphics, promotions, and keeping the site going. Interested? Please contact Kristen (kpalana@aurashouse.com) if you have any comments, ideas, questions, or suggestions. Volunteer Job Positions can be found here.

• Please note, this donation button, along all the others on the site are for our Main Projects. To donate online to our Small Projects section, please donate from this page.

I prefer to donate offline.

Thanks for checking out our newsletter.
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